70-26,285 FRUTH, Mary Ann, 1933- THE ROYAL ENTRY: A STUDY OF TRADITION AND CHANGE -IN THE FRENCH FESTIVALS OF THE 16TH CENTURY. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1970 Theater University Microfilms, A XEROX Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan © Copyright by Mary Ann Pruth 1971 THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED THE ROYAL ENTRY A STUDY OF TRADITION AND CHANGE IN THE FRENCH FESTIVALS OF THE 16TH CENTURY DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Mary Ann Fruth, A.B., A.M. ****** The Ohio State University 1970 Approved by (pohnH. McDowen" Division of Theatre ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to' express particular thanks to the Trustees of the British Museum for their kind permission to reproduce selected figures which illustrate this study and to quote from the festival accounts held by the Museum's Department of Printed Books. My special thanks to Dr. John H. McDowell, for his guidance and enthusiastic encouragement in the preparation of this study; to Dr. John G. Morrow, for his patience and persistance; to Dr. John H. Parks of the Kent State University Department of Romance and Classical Languages, for his assistance in the translation of the Latin inscriptions quoted in the text; and to Mr. G. James Gleason, who prepared the photographs for the study. ii VITA November 2k, 1933 .... Born- Fostoria, Ohio 1955 A.B., Denison University Granville, Ohio 1957 A.M., Smith College Northampton, Massachusetts 1957- 1958 Research Assistant Department of Hebrew Studies The University of Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin 1957- i960 Instructor, Department of Speech Southern Seminary Buena Vista, Virginia I960- 196^ Graduate Assistant Department of Speech The Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio 196*1— 1970 Instructor, Assistant Professor School of Speech Kent State University Kent, Ohio PUBLICATIONS "The American Indian as a Motif in the Triumphal Entry of the 16th Century," The Ohio State University Theatre Collection Bulletin (196?)t 24- 29. "Scenery and Staging of Uncle Tom's Cabini The Allegory and Ohio River Scenes," The Ohio State University Theatre Collection Bulletin (1963), 31- 39. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii VITA iii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS vi INTRODUCTION 1 The Political Festival Defined Factors Influencing the Selection of Specific Festivals for Study The Printed Festival Book The Royal Privilege for Publication Accuracy of Textual Accounts and Illustrations Contents of the Festival Books Summary of Previous Research Chapter I. THE ROYAL ENTRY IN FRANCE: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE 15 Origin and Traditions Mediaeval Influences Classical Influences The Influence of Classical Decor II. THE ROYAL ENTRY OF HENRI II INTO LYON, 15^8 . 33 Records of the Entryt The Festival Books Organization of the Festival Triumphal Decorations, Monuments and Theatres The Entry of the Queen Concluding Events of the Entry Summary iv Chapter Page III. THE ROYAL ENTRY OP HENRI II INTO PARIS, 15^9 . 109 Records of the Entryj The Festival Books and Public Accounts Organization of the Festival Decor of the Entry The Entry of the Queen Concluding Events of the Entry Summary IV. THE ROYAL ENTRY OP HENRI II INTO ROUEN, 1550 . 171 Records of the Entry: The Festival Books Organization of the Entry Special Features of the Entry Procession Spectacles, Monuments and Theatres The Entry of the Queen Concluding Events of the Entry Summary V. SUMMARY 268 BIBLIOGRAPHY v LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1. Frontispiece of the 1548 Festival Book at Lyon, French edition 37 2. Frontispiece of the 15^8 Festival Book at Lyon, Italian edition 39 3. The Obelisk at Pierrencise ^5 4. The Portal at Pierrencise 51 5. The Portal at Bourgneuf 55 6. The Grand Trophy of France 60 7. Triumphal Arch of the Saone and the Rhone 63 8. The Temple of Honor and Virtue 67 9. The Perspective of Troy at the Place du Change . 71 10. The Theatre of Occasion 7^ 11. The Column of Victory 78 12. The Port of the Archbishop of Lyon 82 13. The Royal Barge 1 Le Bucentaure 85 14. A Ship Decorated for the Naumachias La gallare blanche, noir & rouge 101 15. A Ship Decorated for the Naumachias La gallare blanche & verte 103 16. Frontispiece of the 15^9 Festival Books Paris . .114 17. The Triumphal Arch at the Port St. Denis 123 18. Monument at the Fountain of Ponceau • •• *29 vi Figure Page 19. The Triumphal Arch at St. Jacques de la Hospital . 133 20. The Figure of the Rhinoceros 138 21. Perspective of a Portico at the Chatelet 1^5 22. Triumphal Arch at the Pont Notre Dame 1*1-9 23. Decoration of the Central Section of the Pont Notre Dame . 152 2k. Triumphal Arch at the Lists on the Rue St. Anthony 165 25. Frontispiece of the 1551 Festival Books Rouen . 1?8 26. Marginal Decorations from the Pages of a Rouen mss. for the Festival of 1550 182 27. Marginal Decorations from the Pages of a Rouen mss. for the Festival of 1550 l&k 28. The Triumphal Arch and Arcade at St. Seuer .... 189 29. The Chariot of Renown 19^ 30. The Chariot of Renown from the Rouen mss, .... I96 31. The Chariot of Religion 200 32. Music and Lyrics for the Canticle at Rouen .... 203 33. The Chariot of Happy Fortune 206 Ik. The Chariot of Happy Fortune from the Rouen mss. 208 35« Processional Figure of the Dauphin 212 36. The "Sixth Band" in the Rouen Procession 214 37. Elephants in the Procession at Rouen 217 38. Elephants in the Procession at Rouen . 219 39. Elephants in the Procession at Rouen from the Rouen mss 221 vii Figure Page 40. The Representation of Captives in the Rouen Procession 224 41. Flora and Her Nymphs Represented in the Rouen Procession • 226 42. The Brazilian Village 231 43. The Grotto of Orpheus « 236 44. General View of the Processional Entry Route into the City of Rouen 238 45. The Spectacle of the River 241 46. Triumphal Arch of the Age of Gold 247 47. Perspective of the Theatres of the Rouen Entry , 250 48. The Theatre of Hector 253 49. A Scene from the Allegory at the Theatre de la Crosse 256 50. The Theatre at the Pont du Robec 262 viii INTRODUCTION Too often scholars concerned with the history of the theatre have succombed to the temptation for over-simplification resulting in an orderly, yet stultifying, compartmentalization. Under such a regimen those quasi-theatrical forms which admit to compromise in their non-theatrical heritage are neglected or, at best, given cursory acknowledgment. The argument for such capriciousness is invariably based on failure to meet the tenuous criteria constituting "accepted patterns" in theatre history. Unfortunately this has been the case with the treatment of Mediaeval and Renaissance "festivals," particularly politically toned festivals such as the royal entry in Prance. While these fetes were produced by the most skilled local and foreign artists and artisans, often attaining a degree of visual splendor comparable to the Baroque scenic traditions of the Italian Renaissance stage, they have been assiduously neglected by the majority of theatre scholars. Perhaps it is understandable that these festivals should have been relegated to a position of secondary importance. During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, as the festival developed and flourished, the simultaneous burst of activity in the theatres of Western Europe and England naturally superseded the historical importance of these "public entertainments." Private festivals, centered in the courts, appear to have assumed an acceptable status 1 2 due to their more definable theatrical nature. The diversified nature of the festival has posed a major problem in the definition of terms for the typical public festival displays an admixture of traditional ritual, religious ceremony, political propaganda and carnival spirit. Perhaps any attempt at explicit definition is impossible or impractical. The complexity of the term is clearly shown in the definition attempted by Claude Ruggieri whose nineteenth century work in the field of French festivals has been recognized as a basic source for their studyi [ The word "fete" "] nearly always signifies that which relates to a happy day, to a solemn occasion of some kind, to the celebration of some great deeds, to a reunion, in order to be diverted by some dances and some feasts or by some public or private rejoicings} finally a fete will always be a time particularly consecrated to a cult, to a holiday, to a religious or profane ceremony, sometime sublime or popular, —and, finally, to celebrate a memora­ ble epoch or passing. Diffuse as this catalogue of the components of a "fete" appears it apparently was not extensive enough to resolve the problem of definition for Ruggieri, for he continues! A fete is also a day chosen to fete a prince, a father of the family, an illustrious person, a benefactor of humanity, the epoch of a birth or the day which, in the calendar, designates the patron saint of the person being feted. We also understand by fSte a disposition whose end is_to, reunite, to reassemble a society, a population, with the effect of celebrating an event, some great action, the Claude Ruggieri, Precis historiques sur les Fetes, les spectacles et les re.iouissances .71 ( Paris i Ruggieri, 1830 ),^2. OSUTC Film No. 1589. Original in the New York Public Library. 3 return of a cherished person, the assumption of the throne by some prince, or the birth of a royal infant} and this, as we have already observed [is celebrated by] some divertissements, spectacles, games of all kinds, such as songs, dances, agreeable play and noises. It is, moreover, the collection of amusing and recreative things, as ordinary fires and feux de artifice, gymnastic or military exercises, which always begin with or are terminated with feasts.